Antivirus, Backups and Firewalls

Why Your Current Antivirus, Backup, And Firewall Have Been Rendered Completely USELESS (And What You Need To Do About It)

At the end of World War I, German engineer Arthur Scherbius constructed a device that would become central in another worldwide conflict of unimaginable magnitude over 20 years later: the Enigma machine. The machines, which steadily became more complex with each iteration, consisted of a series of rotors that, by themselves, encrypted messages input via the attached typewriter. Each rotor performed a simple substitution cipher, but when run through multiple rotors, the encryption reached a staggering level of complexity.

Initially used for transmitting sensitive company secrets in the commercial sector, the technology was eagerly adopted by the German military

machine prior to World War II. After war broke out across Europe once again, Enigma encoding became central to the operation of the Axis powers, used for sending vital, sensitive intelligence across the airwaves. Due to the complexity of the Enigma system, the Germans were certain that the code would not, and could not, be broken.

But the Germans were wrong. Using photographs of stolen Enigma operating manuals obtained by a German spy, the Polish General Staff’s Cipher Bureau managed to construct an Enigma machine of their own, enabling them to covertly decrypt substantial amounts of Axis intercepts. Ahead of the impending invasion of Poland, the Poles shared their knowledge with the French and British military to expedite the defeat of the Germans. A massive team at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, led by code-breaking master Alan Turing, became the central location for Allied efforts to keep up with Enigma operations.

Germany, still convinced the code was fundamentally unbreakable, continued using Enigma for a wide array of communications. But even the most complicated four-rotor Enigma systems were eventually decrypted. Great pains were taken to ensure the Germans never learned their precious code had been broken, labeling any intelligence gained from Enigma as “Ultra,” keeping the significance of Bletchley Park’s operations under wraps. Ultra-intelligence was used sparingly to avoid German suspicion.

The efforts of the Polish Cipher Bureau, Alan Turing, Bletchley Park, and the hundreds of men and women who contributed to the cracking of the Enigma code were described as “decisive” in the shortening of the war, and, at the high end, are estimated to have saved over 14 million lives.

Much like the Germans who assumed Enigma was uncrackable, most business owners believe their current, potentially outdated, cyber security measures will keep their data safe. But, in the contemporary age where digital information is as precious as gold, cybercriminals are working around the clock to penetrate even the most robust security solutions. You can bet they’ve already created a workaround for your current antivirus. What was good enough before may not be good enough today. After all, it’s simply impossible that a security solution from even two years back could be equipped to defend your precious data from a cutting-edge hacking technology that didn’t even exist when it was created.

Today, companies that fail to stay abreast of the latest cyber security trends — clinging foolishly to their own Enigma — are certain to pay the price down the line. Once the lock is picked, you need a new lock, and criminals are cracking new locks each and every day.

Luckily, as your IT provider, we’re cyber security experts, and we constantly seek the latest and most robust security solutions. Don’t leave your company’s security up to a false sense of confidence. Always be looking at options to upgrade your digital security and make it a sure thing.

Free Cyber-Security Audit Will Reveal Where Your Computer Network Is Exposed and How to Protect Your Company Now

At no cost or obligation, our highly skilled team of IT pros will come to your office and conduct a comprehensive Cyber Security Audit to uncover loopholes in your company’s IT security.

After the audit is done, we’ll prepare a customized “Report Of Findings” that will reveal specific vulnerabilities and provide a Prioritized Action Plan for getting these security problems addressed fast. This report and action plan should be a real eye-opener for you since almost all of the businesses we’ve done this for discover they are completely exposed to various threats in a number of areas.

What Should Come First? Success Or Happiness?

Sonja Lyubomirsky, psychology professor at the University of California and expert on the psychology of human happiness, recently analyzed the results of 211 different studies. She investigated these questions: “Are happy people more successful?” and “Does happiness precede success?” The results of their extensive research showed that, indeed, happiness tended to lead to greater success.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise for most of us. After all, happy people have more positive moods, and positive moods motivate us to work actively to reach new goals. This results in happy people being more productive, more innovative, better communicators, more respected, more appreciated, more optimistic, energetic, likable, confident, and sociable — quite the impressive list! Not only that, but happy people experience less stress. With approximately 1 million workers per day missing work due to stress, it’s evident that there are a lot of unhappy people out there.

When companies downsize their staff, a greater workload is placed on the employees who stay. The greater the demand placed on employees, the greater the potential for even more stress, leading to decreased happiness. At some point, the priority of trying to be happy takes a distant second place to that of merely surviving. “I don’t have time to worry about being happy,” we say. “I’m too busy working.”

I remember, years ago, when the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes died, a reporter asked someone in the know, “How much money did Mr. Hughes leave behind?”

“All of it,” the person replied.

What a great answer. No matter what we accomplish in our lives, we don’t get to take any of it with us when we go. That’s why, if there’s one thing I could possibly share with you toda

y, it’s to stress the importance of your own happiness. If you maintain a positive attitude and strive to be truly happy, it will energize you in everything you do. Work on it daily and lighten up a little. Laugh more. Make a point, daily, to count your blessings. Catalog the things that go right in your life. Be grateful and optimistic. If you can manage to consciously make the choice to be happy, your stress levels will decrease, your productivity will increase, and everyone around you will be better off, more eager to talk to you, and motivated to do their own work with a smile.

Remember, happy people have problems, too, they just handle them differently.

There’s nothing worse than a person who's a “professional depressor.” You know the type, the Debbie Downers who can’t seem to find the positive in anything or, even worse, find the negatives in a positive situation. Happiness starts with the words you speak yourself. So, before opening your mouth to whine about the traffic, complain that the store clerk was a total jerk, shout about your aching body or your parking spot or how you missed your flight, understand that you are essentially reliving the bad events that you’re complaining about. You’ve multiplied their effects and given them power over your life. Don’t do that! It brings you down again and brings down everyone you’re sharing it with. It’s not fair to whomever you’re talking to.

At the end of the day, our happiness and the happiness of our friends and families are all that matters. Everything else is commentary.

Robert Stevenson, along with being a best-selling author, is among the most successful public speakers in the world. His years of service-minded experience owning and running numerous companies have given him the real-world knowledge to help fellow business owners thrive.

Useful Tidbits

This App Could Save Thousands Of Lives

In the event of cardiac arrest, every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation lowers the victim’s chance of survival by 7% to 10% according to the American Heart Association. The new First Responder phone app, created by the European Heart Rhythm Association, was designed with this in mind. It uses GPS tracking to locate nearby trained responders to administer aid, notify emergency services, and direct rescuers to the scene of the incident. During trial runs in Lubeck, Germany, 36% of cardiac arrests were addressed by an app rescuer three minutes before professional responders arrived on the scene. Digitaltrends.com 6/23/17

It’s A New Quarter, You Need To Do This Immediately

When it comes to the security of your business, it’s best not to take any chances. We recommend changing your password at least once every three months. Use both lowercase and capital letters in your password along with numbers and symbols. Avoid using the same password for different accounts — you don’t want a Facebook hacker to gain access to your Amazon account!

5 Ways You Can Leverage New Technology To Stay Ahead Of The Competition

Use new AI technologies to your advantage. Automate back-office tasks to regain work-life balance. Have your AI sort through unreadable stacks of data to help you expedite important business decisions. Employ machine learning to parse data from your clients in order to create a personalized experience. Use it to identify patterns in customer behavior, giving you ideas about how to improve your product. You can even use an AI-powered personal assistant to handle everything from running your calendar to scheduling meetings. inc.com 7/6/17

Do These Simple Steps Throughout The Day To Keep Sitting From “Killing” You

Lately, everyone is abuzz about the latest silent killer: sitting. Wellness coach Roland Denzel recommends breaking up every 25 minutes of work time with a five-minute break, stretching and moving around to get the blood flowing. Lift your arms overhead, lean your body from side to side, and lean far forward. If you can, take a short walk. One way to keep moving throughout the day is, instead of messaging on Slack or picking up the phone, walk over to your colleague’s space and talk in person. Jill Henderzahs-Mason, PT at the Mayo Clinic, says, “At the bare minimum, you should get up and change positions for at least a minute or two.” lifehacker.com 7/6/17